Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Udyog Aadhaar scheme launched in September 2015 for MSME registration has so far brought more than 80 lakh MSMEs under the fold of government schemes, subsidies, easy loans etc.

The free of cost online registration process, in fact saw a jump of over 1500 per cent in the number of registered MSMEs from 4.95 lakh (4,95,468) as on March 31, 2016 to 80.14 lakh (80,14,502), according to the data shared by MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari in Rajya Sabha on Thursday and data available on the Udyog Aadhaar portal. “To avail government schemes, which are more than 25 in number, MSMEs will have to register with Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum without which small businesses won’t be able to even access credit facility bu the government,” Dr Sanjiv Layek, Executive Secretary, World Association For Small And Medium Enterprises (WASME) told Financial Express Online.

The number of registered MSMEs during the same month in 2017, 2018 and 2019 stood at 28.68 lakh, 43.86 lakh, 65.08 lakh respectively. “The government has taken several measures to spread awareness among entrepreneurs of MSMEs to register on Udyog Aadhaar Portal like easy self-registration by entrepreneurs, active facilitation of MSME registration by MSME field offices,” Gadkari said in a statement. According to the National Sample Survey FY16, India has 633.88 lakh unincorporated non-agricultural MSMEs with 36 per cent in trade, 33 per cent in other services, and 31 per cent in manufacturing activity, MSME Ministry had said in its FY19 annual report.

The employment in MSME sector also bounced back during FY19 with 5.87 lakh jobs created under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme, from 3.87 lakh in FY18, which actually declined from 4.08 lakh in FY17. FY19 number of jobs was up nearly 52 per cent from FY18 and 44 per cent from FY17. However, the MSME sector’s GDP and exports contribution have hovered around 29 per cent between FY16-FY18 and 49 per cent between FY17-FY20 (till August 2019) respectively. Gadkari had earlier said that the government will be targeting to enhance MSMEs’ contribution to the Indian GDP to 50 per cent with an additional 5 crore jobs to the existing 11 crores in the next five years. “Among the key challenges for stagnant GDP and exports contribution is delayed payments from PSUs which has been already voiced through RBI and Finance ministry. The other development that is responsible is demonetisation that halted MSMEs’ growth,” Dr Layek added.

Published On : 21-11-2019

Source : Financial Express